Now or Never
by SilverDawnMist
Summary: What’s a girl to do when she needs to learn to deal with emotions she s never delta with before. Love, hate, fear, and belonging.


_**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I will only say that once. This is for the whole story, so I repeat, I do NOT own Harry Potter. Read it and love it. This is my first fan fiction so be nice or mean or whatever you want. I'll take helpful comments, but no flames please. Thanks : )**_

_**Chapter One**_

_Andromeda's (Andria's) POV_

_Hogwarts._ It was something that I could only ever dream about. But here I am, getting ready to go. This would be my third year apparently. How interesting. Back in America I would be entering my ninth year _Liliana's_. But at the school I went to you started magic when you were four. Well if you were advanced enough. Like me. Some people didn't start until they were five, six, and seven and so on.

But in England you didn't start until you were eleven! I would be so ahead of the other students. Or maybe I wouldn't. What if they learned hard stuff? What if they had whole different spells and...My head hurts. I'm over thinking this.

When I saw the train I almost jumped, it made one stop before it went to its main stop, Kings Cross. It went to St. Lucy's Station. That's where I got picked up. It was also where the train stayed when it wasn't making any runs from Kings Cross to Hogwarts.

I instantly used magic to get my trunk into a compartment. I don't have to start obeying the England rules of magic until I start school at Hogwarts and back in Liliana's you could use magic whenever you wanted as long as you had passed your second year, and I was well past that.

A few minutes after I was in the compartment and all the doors were closed the train started to move. Instantly adrenalin started to run through every nerve in my body.

This was going to be my first time at a boarding school. Liliana's was like a normal school, you took a bus in the morning, went to classes, took a bus back, did you home work and did the same routine the next day. We had classes every day except Sunday, but then we still went to the school and had ceremony's and just had fun, that day wasn't mandatory. Our classes ran right into the summer too. And through Christmas. Everyone thought it was just a religious school and never bothered to sign their child up for it.

There was one good thing about this situation...I didn't have to leave behind a family. When I came here last month, I came to a foster family. They were nice but I just always hated being passed around from family to family. At least these ones were like me...Their names were Mary and Steven Jones. Mary always freaked out when she looked at me. I don't know why, maybe I should ask her sometime.

And then there was their neighbour, Annette, or Anna as I call her. Anna is Mary's best friend, but I seem to like Anna more than anyone. She would be the only one I would really miss, and she promised to write to me often. Intact she had given me a birthday yesterday, even though my birthday was at the beginning of the summer before I ever met her. She gave me an ancient book of spells. It was given to her by her mother and her mother's mother and so on. She was so happy when she got to give it to someone. I haven't read it yet but every bone in my body is churning to read it.

The train pulls into Kings cross and I wait. It's about half an hour before anyone starts getting here. I look at my watch, 10:00. It won't be leaving for another hour.

Someone slides my compartment door open. It's a man. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

"No, not at all."

I look at his briefcase. _Professor R.J. Lupin._ He stares at me. The same look that Mary, Steven and Anna, all gave me when they first saw me. What was going on in this place?

I pull out my small music player. It's like a witch version of a muggle IPod. Liliana had given it to me as a going away gift. I put the head phones in my ears and turned it to a song called, nightly sounds.

There's something odd about me. Sometimes, when my mind is taken off guard, or is relaxed I can see the future, not like a seer but like a well like a person who see the future. Anna says that her grandmother was one.

Music seemed to really relax my mind and I saw something small. Just a brief image. It was me running and jumping into Anna's arms. I looked different, so it wouldn't be sometime soon. I had a few coloured streaks in my hair and some really colourful clothes on. It didn't seem like me, but it was and we were both smiling like it was the end of the world.

Anna and I would be close for a while. Thinking about this I smiled now.

Lupin was settled down and was falling asleep.

I put the music player away and pulled out the spell book and just held it in my hands. The cover read something in a different language. I couldn't understand it. But on the inside there was dates and writing that I_ could_ understand. It went from the 1300 to the 1900. _Six hundred years of magic was in this book. _

The first pages were dark and horrible to even think about using. And the ones near the end where so kind, helpful and useful I couldn't wait to use them. Anna was the last one to write spells in it. Her first entry was sighed as Annette Callaway, her tenth was signed as Annette Black, and then her last one was signed as Annette Callaway again. She must have gotten a divorce.

The train was filling up fast now. I started leafing through the pages until I found Anna's grandmother, _Juliana Mayra_. She was the one that was a seer. She had spells to look back in time and in the present and future and to get into people's minds and find truth and energy. But they were complicated. You couldn't use a wand or even your hands. You had to do everything in your head and it looked like it took a lot of will power to do it.

The compartment door slid opened again and there was three people standing there. "Everywhere else is full, do you mind if we sit here?"

I shake my head and look at my watch. 10:59. and just as it hits 11:00 the train starts to move. I set the book on my trunk that's on the floor and stand up. "I'm Andromeda, but don't ever call me that. I go by Andria or Andy." I smile at them.

"Hermione Granger." Says a girl with bushy hair.

"Ron Weasly." Says a boy with red hair and old robes.

"Harry Potter." The last boy says. He has messy black hair, green eyes, glasses and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. I smile at him, because he seems a bit nervous, scared, and confused.

"It's nice to meet you all."

They come into the compartment and stand in front of me.

"I'm just going for a walk about the train. But be quiet, he looks like he needs the sleep." And with that I shrug out of the door taking my very different Hogwarts uniform. As soon as I'm gone from the compartment they are talking in hushed whispers. I roll my eyes and keep walking. Was it really a good idea to leave my book with them?

At the end of the very long hall of the train there's a bathroom. I walk in and get changed. I have never had to wear a uniform before and I'm scared that I look odd in it. There's a grey skirt, a white blouse, a black pull over knit vest and grey socks, which go up to my knees and a black pair of dress shoes. I leave my long blonde curls down. I had pretty tan skin from all the sun in America. And my eyes were this deep dark brown. If I ever knew my parents I would be able to say I looked like my mom or my dad or maybe even both. But I don't know who I look like. I've never met my parents.

I pulled a silver locket out of my jean pocket, it had been on me when I was sent to the orphanage. It was very pretty and very old fashioned. Sometimes I imagined that it had a picture of my mother in it. But I've never been able to open it. I clasp it around my neck.

After a minute of just staring back at myself in the mirror I leave the bathroom and head back to the compartment. There are three mean looking guys surrounding the door. After a second the turn around so quick and push me into the wall so they can pass me. I slip back into it and the Harry, Ron and Hermione are smiling at each other. I sit down in my seat, across from Hermione and beside Harry.

"So Andria," Hermione starts. "What house are you in?"

For a minute I'm puzzled by this. Then I remember that Hogwarts School has houses. "I don't know yet. I'm a transfer student."

"From where?"The three look really interested now.

"A school in America called Liliana."

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "What was it like?"

Then I started to explain everything to them. All the details about it and how different it is from what I've heard about Hogwarts. I didn't tell them about what sorts of magic we learned though. I wasn't completely sure if I should, because of the secrecy code we had signed when we first went started there. But maybe that was just for muggles, I can't really seem to remember. It was years ago that I had signed it.

"Wow, why did you change schools?" Harry asks. "Make a move like that?"

I look down at my lap. "I'm an orphan."

It goes quiet for a minute. No one says anything. They fell bad for me.

"I got a letter in the school mail about Hogwarts. They wanted me here and wouldn't take no for an answer. So I left my old foster family and got a new one over here. It's not as bad as it sounds. I'm actually very happy about it."

"I wish I had a foster family." Harry said suddenly. I snap my head up to look at him. He's smiling. "I live with my aunt and uncle, their horrible muggles."

"What about your mom and dad?"

Harry frowned.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No, its okay, I'm just used to everyone knowing what happened to them. They were killed by Lord Voldemort when I was a baby."

"Who?" I ask, puzzled.

"He was the darkest wizard ever."

"Oh." American and England have practically nothing in common. Lord _Voldemort_? Our darkest wizard went by the name _Bunny_, and she was a witch. She didn't murder people though, she just tortured people. I tell them this and they laugh.

_**. . .**_

About three hours later the train stops and the lights click off.

Ron looks out the window. "We can't be there all ready can we?" It's dark outside, so I'm sure that we should be. But Hermione shakes her head.

"No, not yet. Maybe their having some problems."

"There's something moving!"

"Maybe someone's getting on board."

A chill passes through my body and there's a figure that keeps passing by our compartment door. I lean into Harry's side freaking out. Slowly the compartment opens. There's a tall dark figure standing there. It's floating in the air and the hood is covering its face.

I almost scream. It looks over at me. And then I find myself looking into the future.

I see a man and Harry and me. The man has one of those cloaked things over him. The me in the vision looks at Harry and they take off running towards the man. It looks like he's close to dying and I don't know why but I scream, silently in my head.

When I snap back out of my vision I'm sitting up like a statue. Harry is lying down on the seat and Lupin, Hermione, and Ron are all surrounding him.

What was that all about? "Is he okay?" I ask them.

Hermione looks up at me and then sits beside me. "He just got affected by the dementor. Are you okay?"

Before I can respond Harry opens his eyes and tries to sit up. "What happened?"

"You fainted mate." Ron said.

"I'll go talk to the conductor," Lupin says. "Eat this." And he hands him a piece of chocolate."

After he's gone everyone is quiet for a minute. Then Harry sits up and looks around at us. "Did anyone else..._Faint_?"

"No, but I felt like I would never be happy again." Ron says.

Hermione looks at me. "Andria seemed to have left her mind. It was weird, her eyes just glazed over like she was in a whole different place."

They all look at me and under my breath I whisper. "Get used to it."

"Who was screaming?"

"No one was screaming, Harry." Hermione said.

I feel back into my seat. In my head I started humming the song Undercover, by Midnight. I listened to the words carefully. Trying to calm myself down from whatever had just happened.

Soon Lupin comes back in. "We'll be there in a few minutes."

When the train stops I follow Hermione, Harry and Ron. On the way to a carriage a boy with platinum blonde hair starts teasing Harry about fainting. I sneer at him and he stops. For some odd reason I hate this person. I take Harry by the arm and start to pull him away. The boy hollers out something that makes my face go red.

"Got your_ girlfriend_ fighting you battles for you now Potter?" It's like a sneer and I find myself wanting to turn back and punch him.

I jump in the carriage and it take off. Harry and I don't look at each other for the ride, we're both embarrassed. We stop in front of a castle and get out.

On our way up the stairs and throw the main doors someone hollers out. "Potter, Granger, this way." I turn to a woman with her hair tied back into a tight bun and a long green dress on. She looks at me for a minute. "You too, Andromeda." We start walking towards her. "Not you Weasly." Ron falls back. "Follow me."

She leads us into an office and I'm guessing that she must be Professor McGonagall. She tells me to wait outside and I do until Hermione and Harry have both come out of her office. Then she asks me to please come in.

I sit down on a chair in front of her desk. "I need you to wait here until I come back with the sorting hat and then you may join your house for the feast. I will be right back."

Sorting? No one said anything about it. What will I have to do? _Magic?_ Will I be advanced enough? Maybe I need to know something that I was never taught! That wouldn't be fair. What house do I want to be put in? What house are the others in? What are the houses anyways?

I start freaking out. What was it she said about a hat? What was something you had to do with a hat? Maybe I shouldn't have come here after all.

After about ten minutes Professor McGonagall comes back and she has a hat in her hands. "Stay seating, when I put the hat on your head it will chose what house it thinks you belong in." I nod.

The hat is so big that it falls over my eyes and leaves me in darkness. Suddenly there's a voice in my head. _**"Aww, another black. Thought the last of you died out. Now, what house to put you in?"**_ _Whatever house the others are in,_ I thought to myself. _**"Gryffindor? Brave are you? Well then, let it be..." **_and then out loud it says. _**"GRYFFDOR!"**_

I almost jump out of my seat. I hate it when people bewitch things so they can talk.

Professor McGonagall smiles at me. She points her wand at my uniform and charms it so that the colours of the neck of the robe, vest and tie are moron and gold. On my robe there's a lion and I'm assuming that it's the symbol for Gryffindor.

"Now, Andromeda-"I flinch at the name.

"Please just Andria, or Andy."

"Alright, Andria, we have a few maters to attend to." She says and I nod. "For starters, your magic ability." She looks down at a piece of paper in her hands. "It's quiet good, above average for third years at Hogwarts. And then Mary signed your permission slip to go to Hogsmead on assigned days." She looks up at me. "There is one more matter, I must ask you."

"Alright."

"How are you at Quiditch?"

I raise my eyebrows a bit. "Uh, I'm good...I _think_. I played chaser for Liliana's team."_Why was that question in there? _

"Okay, let's take you to the feast." I follow her down a corridor until we're standing in front of two big doors. I look in and smile. It's just so grand. It's amazing. "The right middle table is your house one."

"Thank you."

As I'm walking over to it I see Hermione, Ron and Harry all sitting near the end. I hurry over to them. At first they don't notice me, but when I slip onto the bench beside Hermione she almost jumps out of her skin.

I smile at her a bit.

"Oh! You're in Gryffindor? That's great."

"Yeah, it is, isn't it?"

We talk for awhile and when the feast is over and Professor Dumbledore has said some words we walk off to the Gryffindor tower. It's very weird. You have to say a password to a picture and then it lets you in. They must be very protective about their students. Hermione leads me up the staircase to the right and takes me to a dorm room. All my stuff is piled by one of the beds, and without even changing I say goodnight, close the curtains and fall down on the bed, and slip into a deep sleep.

_**3 So, that was the first chapter, I hope you like it. I won't put up the next chapter until I have at least five reviews if not more. **_

_**Here's a little quiz:**_

_**Q: Andromeda isn't just Andria's name. Where did it come from? What was she named after?**_

_**Answer will be posted at the beginning of the nest chapter. Put your guess in a review. The people who get the right answer get to read a preview of the second chapter ahead of time. Latter on in the story you'll find out 'exactly' why her parents named her that and there are connections. If you want to take a guess then send me a message. Keep reading to find out. It seems sort of obvious once you know it. **_

_**Love Silver 3 **_


End file.
